A Cup of Coffee with Director Benny Safdie (‘The Smashing Machine’)
Published on Oct 8
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<p>Director, writer, and actor Benny Safdie stops by Sam’s home this week to discuss his new film, <a href="https://www.fandango.com/the-smashing-machine-2025-240454/movie-overview"><em>The Smashing Machine</em></a> (1:30)—an unflinching portrait of mixed martial arts icon Mark Kerr (7:00), played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (9:00).</p> <p> </p> <p>In the second half, we revisit our conversation from 2023. There, Safdie unpacks his collaboration with comedian Nathan Fielder on their television series <a href="https://www.sho.com/the-curse"><em>The Curse</em></a> (44:30), the timely premise that inspired the show (47:20), and his history of capturing real-life personalities on film (51:20). Then, he describes his early connection to the 1979 movie <em>Kramer v Kramer</em> (54:20), a New York encounter with photographer Robert Frank (59:20), and how directors Robert Bresson (1:03:20) and Frederick Wiseman (1:03:50) opened his eyes to the possibilities of str...